


Neil's Keeper

by PalmettoFoxDen



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, With Andrew to babysit him in front of the upperclassmen, drunk Neil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 23:41:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11885322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PalmettoFoxDen/pseuds/PalmettoFoxDen
Summary: Neil decides he wants to let loose a little and get drunk with the upperclassmen, so he asks Andrew to keep him from doing anything too stupid.





	Neil's Keeper

Andrew was trying to ignore Nicky and Kevin’s screaming when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Kevin was trying to confiscate a bag of candy from Nicky while Nicky held it to his chest like a mother nursing her baby.

Nicky begged Andrew to take his side as Andrew glanced down at his text. Andrew wasn’t sure if he was more surprised that Neil’s phone was charged or that he had sent a text of his own volition.

_Drinking with upperclassmen. Come keep me from doing anything too stupid while I’m drunk?_

“Andrew, tell Kevin to stop being such a buzzkill.”

“Tell Nicky to stop poisoning his body.”

Andrew ignored them both as he typed back a quick text. _Have I ever been able to stop you when you’re sober?_

“I’ll stop eating candy when you stop downing whole bottles of tequila,” Nicky argued.

“Pretend you’re adults and figure it out yourself,” Andrew told them, then got up and left the dorm room.

* * *

The door to Matt’s dorm room was unlocked, so Andrew quietly let himself in. Apparently, the upperclassmen were too loud to hear the door, since they kept on talking while Andrew leaned against the doorway. The others were sitting on the floor in front of the couch, so the back of the couch served as a barrier between Andrew and them.

“I never thought I’d live long enough to see Neil send a text,” Matt commented. “I can’t believe it. He even typed more than one word.”

“And he read the response right away,” Dan added in awe. “He didn’t even wait one to two business days first.”

“I check my texts right away sometimes,” Neil defended himself. “I just don’t bother answering if they’re not important.”

“And what’s so important that you’re texting first?” Allison asked.

Neil glanced in the direction of the door like he was waiting for Andrew to show up. He didn’t have to answer Allison’s question, since he found Andrew already standing there.

Allison’s eyes followed Neil’s, then she shot a smug smirk back at him. “Well, I guess that answers that.”

Andrew didn’t dignify her with a response as he detoured to the kitchen to grab himself a glass.

When he returned to the living room, he sat cross-legged on the floor at Neil’s side without a word.

Renee silently dealt Andrew into their card game as he poured himself a drink and topped Neil’s off.

“How did you convince him to come drink with us?” Dan asked Neil. “Especially without the other monsters?”

They acted like it was some big deal that Andrew had joined them. He wasn’t there for them. He was there for Neil.

Neil had never felt safe enough anywhere to let his guard down, let alone lose control. His mother had made sure of that. For whatever reason, Neil still loved the mother that had managed to control him, even from beyond the grave. Andrew hated her.

If Neil was sick of always being in control and wanted to get drunk with Andrew there to keep an eye on him, then Andrew sure as hell wasn’t going to turn him down.

“He asked,” Andrew responded in a bored tone.

“You sound like Neil,” Matt commented. “That’s what he always says after he convinces you to do something.”

“Now do you believe me?” Neil asked Matt.

“Not really,” Matt admitted.

“Smart choice,” Andrew commented. He couldn’t care less what Matt thought, but he knew it would annoy Neil as he added, “He’s a compulsive liar.”

Neil ignored that and lifted his drink to his lips, then took a long swig.

“So, what exactly are you doing here?” Allison asked in a blunt tone that made Renee shoot her a dirty look.

Andrew appreciated the sentiment, but he and Renee both knew he didn’t need her protecting his feelings. Andrew hardly had feelings and he sure as fuck wasn’t about to cry over Allison acting less than welcoming to him.

“I think it’s nice that you're here,” Renee assured him.

He knew that she meant it. At least Renee was there if he had to put up with the rest of the upperclassmen.

“But why?” Allison tried again.

Andrew didn’t owe them an explanation, but he didn’t mind telling them how stupid Neil had been when they had gotten him drunk in Columbia. Andrew had been sitting on how annoyed he was about that for months.

“Last time he got drunk, he started a fight with someone and got knocked out.”

“Wrong,” Neil interrupted. “I didn't get in a fight. I paid him a hundred bucks to knock me out.”

Andrew could not believe how casually Neil corrected him. Every time Andrew thought he understood Neil, he went and did something unpredictable all over again.

“Stupid,” Andrew accused. “Why would you need to pay someone to punch you? You can hardly open your mouth without picking a fight.”

“It was better to be unconscious fast than mix up my lies and say too much,” Neil responded.

Andrew was reminded all at once of why he’d been so attracted to Neil and why being attracted to Neil had been so incredibly stupid and dangerous back then. Neil kept his web of lies away from Andrew now though. He was even handing out truths in front of the upperclassmen.

“At least I won't have to carry your ass as far if you pass out here,” Andrew muttered.

The upperclassmen weren't used to Andrew talking this much. Renee took it in stride, since he talked at least this much to her on walks at practice, but the others looked taken aback. They hadn't seen him talk this much total in a month, let alone all in one sitting. They were noticeably staring. Andrew couldn’t care less what they thought.

“You carried me?” Neil asked.

“Don't look at me like that,” Andrew warned him. “How did you think you ended up back at the house? Nicky went to get the car. Aaron already didn't like you and would have left you there without a second thought. He was totally useless. Kevin at least opened doors. Seriously, quit looking at me like that.”

Neil turned his attention back to his drink as he looked away from Andrew. He took another sip, then peeked at Andrew out of the corner of his eye.

Clearly, Neil had been so preoccupied trying to get away from their house, that he hadn’t stopped to consider how he had gotten there. Andrew had been looking for Neil and found him unconscious on the floor, so he had dragged him back to the table and made Kevin track down Nicky and Aaron. When they got back home, Kevin had a claim on the couch already and Nicky had volunteered his bed for Neil. Andrew hadn’t wanted Neil in his bed and wasn’t about to carry him up the stairs anyways, so he’d warned Nicky not to bother him and dropped him off on the bed.

“Could your bar be any lower?” Andrew questioned as he watched Neil pretend not to look at him out of the corner of his eye. “You are circling 104%. You truly are pathetic, paying someone to knock you out and then expecting to be left behind unconscious with no way to get back.”

“Your bar isn't much higher,” Neil retorted. “If I’m so pathetic and I'm your type.”

“Self-destructive tendencies, remember?” Andrew responded, then shifted the focus off of himself as he asked, “So, what are we betting?”

“We aren’t,” Allison said in a tone that dripped with bitterness.

“Neil won’t bet on anything ever,” Matt added.

Andrew considered for a moment as he watched Neil in his peripheral vision.

“I have a better idea,” he said finally. “Neil wants to get drunk. We’re playing a drinking game.”

Allison looked thrilled at the opportunities that presented, Dan looked surprised, Matt grinned wildly, and Renee looked to Neil.

Andrew could feel Neil’s eyes burning a hole into the side of his head, so he turned to look at him. Neil’s concern was subtle, but Andrew could tell when something was off.

He switched to German. “We don’t have to.”

The upperclassmen stared between Neil and Andrew as Neil responded in German.

“Aren’t drinking games usually…” Neil paused for a moment, searching for words. “Don’t they usually involve revealing hidden truths. You don’t even like talking to them. Why would you-”

Andrew cut him off. “Not that kind of drinking game.”

He barely got the words out before Allison eagerly suggested, “I vote we play Never Have I Ever.”

She was shamelessly phishing for information about Neil and Andrew. Andrew wasn’t interested in sharing anything about him and Neil and that was the least dangerous of his secrets.

“No.” Andrew said in a stern tone. “Instead of betting money, if you lose a hand, you have to drink. Renee can drink water.”

Allison looked disappointed, but at least she had enough brain cells not to argue.

* * *

Neil was the first one drunk, since his alcohol tolerance had not been built up and was therefore virtually non-existent.

It was Matt’s turn to deal the cards and as he dealt them to Neil, Neil stared at him like he had given him the world as he said, “Thank you, Matt.”

Matt stopped with a card halfway to Renee and turned an irritatingly bright smile on Neil.

“No problem,” Matt said as he dealt the next card.

Neil grabbed Matt’s wrist to stop him from drawing the next card. He stared him dead in the eyes as he said, “No, really. _Thank you_.”

Matt shared a look with Dan, then turned his attention back on Neil. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Not just for the card, for everything,” Neil continued. “You were a great roommate. You’re a great teammate. I’m lucky to have you as my friend.”

Neil released Matt’s wrist, but Matt was still distracted. He was eating Neil’s drunken gratitude up. It was pathetic really.

The others were all smiling, even Renee. Andrew wasn’t a fan. Drunk Neil was reminding him of martyr Neil a little too much.

They played a few more hands and Neil thanked Dan for being such a good captain and friend and holding the team together. Andrew wanted to punch something.

When Neil’s glass was empty, Andrew filled it for him.

“Thank you,” Neil said in a tone way too appreciative for the lack of effort it had required from Andrew.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Neil questioned.

“Don’t thank me,” Andrew clarified. “For anything. Ever. Last time you did, you were planning on running off and getting yourself killed without warning. I don’t want your thank yous.”

“Okay,” Neil said. He looked down at his cards, then back up at Andrew. “But you know that wasn’t just about the game, right? It was about everything. You didn’t just let me stay. You gave me a reason to want to.”

Andrew’s jaw clenched, then he spoke in German again. “You are getting stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s true.”

* * *

Two drinks, twelve hands, and a couple lists of thank yous directed at Renee and Allison later, Andrew cut Neil off.

The upperclassmen abandoned the card game as soon as Neil was not allowed to drink anymore. Andrew hoped that meant they would call it a night.

Instead, as Renee slid the deck of cards back into its box, Neil suddenly decided, “I want to shave my head.”

“No,” Andrew told him.

Neil ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the ends. “I’m sick of looking at this.”

“I may not be a responsible person, but I know enough to know _this_ is stupid,” Andrew deadpanned. “You are not shaving your head while you’re drunk.”

“I hate this colour,” Neil insisted with a voice full of venom. “It makes me look like him.”

“You could dye it again,” Dan suggested.

Neil stared at Andrew. “I could dye it.”

“No. You asked me to stop you from doing anything too stupid,” Andrew pointed out. “I am not letting you decide on any drastic changes while you’re drunk.”

“He hates his hair, drunk or sober,” Allison pointed out. “He can’t even look at his reflection.”

“Let him dye his hair,” Matt said as if his opinion meant anything to Andrew.

The worst part was that Andrew knew Allison was right. Neil dodged mirrors and flinched away from reflective surfaces. If Neil decided he wanted to dye his hair sober, Andrew would have gone along with it. He hated watching Neil hide from his own reflection. Andrew could break every mirror at PSU, but it still wouldn’t fix the problem.

Andrew never should have agreed to babysit. He was not the responsible type. Why had Neil asked him? Neil shouldn’t trust him. Why did Neil blindly trust him?

Andrew glanced to Renee. She was the voice of reason in the room. Surely, she would set this straight.

“Dye isn’t permanent,” she said after a moment. “As long as he doesn’t bleach it, it’ll wash out eventually. Or he could dye over it.”

Andrew considered for a moment. “Fine. But no bleach and Neil comes in my car. I am not driving with any of you.”

* * *

Andrew could feel Neil staring at him as he drove. Most of him wanted to tell him to stop it. The small part that didn't won out.

Although Renee could drive at astounding speeds when it was important, she drove at exactly the speed limit the rest of the time, so Andrew pulled into the dark and nearly empty drugstore parking lot while the upperclassmen were nowhere in sight. He shucked his seat belt, then turned to face Neil.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Andrew asked.

“Why did you come watch me if it’s such a chore for you?” Neil questioned.

“Because you asked me,” Andrew responded. “And someone needs to keep your dumb, drunk ass from shaving your own head.”

Neil should be allowed to let loose the one time in his life he decided to get drunk. If he wanted Andrew there to babysit, then Andrew wasn't going to shut him down or leave him to fend for himself.

“Thank you.”

“Don't start that again,” Andrew warned.

“Okay,” Neil agreed. But then he still felt the need to add, “But you know I mean it, right?”

Andrew kept his mouth shut. It was pathetic how grateful Neil was for every little nice thing anyone did for him. It made Andrew want to track down and pummel anyone who had ever wronged Neil and made him expect bad intentions as the default. Neil looked at Andrew like he was some selfless prince on a white horse. He wasn't and he never would be.

“Don't get mad,” Neil said and Andrew got annoyed in preparation. “But it’s like I wasn't even really a person before I met you. You let me be a person. You make me whole.”

Annoyance quickly gave way to full-blown anger.

“I do not complete you and you do not complete me,” Andrew snarled out. “You are a whole person on your own. Neil Abram Josten. You do not need me or anyone else to be complete.”

Neil looked at him in awe like a lovestruck moron. Was he really stupid enough to cut himself short of being a person? If Andrew could resurrect Neil’s parents to err all his grievances and beat them back to death, he would.

Neil leaned closer to Andrew, but didn't invade the space of Andrew’s seat, as he asked, “Yes or no?”

“Not while you’re drunk,” Andrew responded.

Neil leaned back against his seat and glanced out the window to watch down the street for Allison’s car.

“I’m glad you're here,” Neil said. “All of you. I'm used to dying my hair in secret, in public bathrooms and hotel rooms. My mom would just grab the first thing we hadn't used before. I've never really cared what colour I got because I knew it couldn't be permanent anyways. I couldn't even repeat a shade in another city. I've never really picked a colour. I've never had friends to help me choose.”

“You are utterly pathetic.”

* * *

Andrew stood a safe distance away from the upperclassmen as Neil browsed the hair dye aisle with them.

“How about this one?”

Allison grabbed a box with a picture of a platinum blonde woman on the front and held it up to Neil, even though Andrew had already said he was not letting bleach anywhere near drunk Neil’s head. To Andrew’s relief, Neil shook his head no.

“What do you think of this?”

Matt grabbed a box that depicted a colour of brown uncomfortably similar to the shade Neil’s hair had been dyed when he had come to Palmetto State. Andrew waited for Neil to react as he silently rooted against the colour.

“I’m sick of brown.”

Dan picked through a bunch of horrendously unnatural looking shades that would probably turn out all wrong if used on Neil’s unbleached hair, but did not suggest any.

Renee stood a little further from the shelves and surveyed the boxes, but did not grab any.

Neil stood mere inches from the shelves, carefully eying each box. Andrew had a feeling he was going to be there for a while.

“You should dye it something really eye-catching,” Allison suggested. Andrew could not imagine the comment going over well. “That way it’ll be easier to keep an eye on you in case someone tries to drag you off again.”

“Allison,” Renee warned.

“What?” Allison demanded. “It’s practical.”

“If anyone wants to try to take Neil again, they’re going to have to go through me,” Matt insisted.

Dan turned her attention on Neil as she asked, “What colour do you want?”

Andrew decided all at once that she was the most tolerable of the three drunk upperclassmen.

“I don’t know,” Neil responded, then turned to Andrew. “What do you think?”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Andrew told him.

Matt and Dan looked appalled. Neil looked disappointed. Allison looked suspicious.

Andrew switched to German as he added, “You’ve never really picked a colour. You’re the one who has to walk around with whatever you get. You decide.”

“That-” Neil said, then paused and switched to German. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want your input.”

“You have been messing with my head since I first saw you,” Andrew pointed out. “With brown hair and auburn hair. With brown eyes and blue eyes. Before and after your new scars. With and without that horrible tattoo. Nothing you choose is going to change that.”

Andrew ignored the upperclassmen’s stares. He didn’t care if they were offended that he and Neil were having a private conversation in German right in front of them.

“You really have no opinion at all?”

Andrew knew that making his own decision was important to Neil. He also knew that if he made any comment about the hair dye, Neil would take it into consideration far too much. Neil was pushing though, trying to figure out if Andrew cared about Neil’s appearance at all.

“Do whatever you want with your hair. I like this-” Andrew paused and pointed to his own eyes. “Much better than those ugly brown contacts.”

Neil looked as overly grateful for that comment as he was for everything else while drunk. Andrew had a hard time telling if the alcohol had caused the reaction or if Neil would have looked that lovesick either way. He didn’t think he wanted to know.

“You’re doing it again,” he warned.

Neil turned back to the shelf and Andrew glanced down the aisle, away from the others.

The upperclassmen stared for a little longer, then Renee suggested, “We should get snacks while we’re here.”

“We need chips,” Matt agreed.

“Neil, are you okay here if we go find some food?” Dan asked.

“He’s fine,” Andrew answered for him.

Dan looked to Neil anyways.

“I’m great,” Neil assured her. “I’ve got Andrew.”

Allison grinned and opened her mouth, but her comment was cut off when Renee grabbed her arm and hauled her down the aisle. Dan and Matt followed and then Neil and Andrew were alone.

Andrew watched in silence as Neil picked up a few boxes and set them back down. Finally, Neil grabbed a box and turned around.

“I’ve never had black hair before,” he said. “My mom always said it would draw too much attention. Black would look too obviously dyed and it would make roots more difficult to hide.”

“There’s nothing stopping you now,” Andrew said. “You are Neil Josten. You will always be Neil Josten. You do not need to hide.”

Neil smiled. “I want this one.”

* * *

Neil stared down at the box in his hands as he and Andrew followed the sound of Dan and Allison arguing over chip flavours through the store.

The upperclassmen were standing in the centre of the chip aisle with a basket full of snacks when they found them. There was a middle-aged woman at the other end of the aisle that gave off a strong divorced soccer mom vibe to Andrew. She did not look impressed with the loud upperclassmen. Andrew wasn’t either.

“Neil, what did you pick?” Dan asked when she noticed them.

Soccer Mom looked over at them too. Her eyes flitted from Andrew right to Neil and she stared at his face. She looked horrified. Andrew was no longer on Soccer Mom’s side.

Neil felt eyes on him and looked up from the box. He stared back at the woman, but she didn’t budge. Andrew could sense the explosion a moment before it happened. Neil was argumentative sober too, so Andrew did nothing to interfere.

“What are you looking at?” Neil demanded.

The woman flinched like she had been struck.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It was rude of me to stare. I was just wondering what happened to your-”

“My scars are none of your business,” Neil snapped. “You don’t see me asking why you’re wandering around a drugstore by yourself at one in the morning. Or should I come rummage through your basket and find out what’s going on in your pathetic little life? Since you want sharing time so badly, what made you think you can just pry into random strangers’ lives? What’s going on in your miserable, pathetic, pitiful little life that has you butting into other people’s lives so that you don’t have to think about how awful it will be going back to your own?”

Matt stared at Neil with his jaw dropped. Allison looked impressed. Dan looked back and forth between the woman and Neil. Renee was on damage control and said something softly to the woman, then ushered her away.

Andrew spoke in German as he asked, “Who cares what she thinks? Let’s get out of here.”

* * *

Dan and Matt went through the checkout first with the basket of snacks while Neil waited in line with the box of hair dye clutched to his chest.

When the cashier rang the hair dye through, Allison pulled out a credit card. Andrew shot her his best death glare, but she didn’t put it away, so Andrew grabbed the card out of her hand and shoved it back into her bag. Allison glared at him as he pulled his wallet out. For once, Neil didn’t try to convince them to let him pay.

“I’m not going to say thank you,” Neil started.

“Good. Don’t,” Andrew responded as he grabbed Neil’s bag from the cashier.

“But I know you don’t want to be here,” Neil continued. “I know you don’t like hanging out with them and you came to take care of me anyways. I appreciate that. I appreciate you.”

The upperclassmen were staring at Andrew, waiting for him to react. Andrew wished Neil had waited until they’d made it to the car to start spewing out drunken gratitude again.

Andrew shot Neil a dismissive glare. “Don’t get excited. I was looking for an excuse to get away from Nicky and Kevin’s bickering anyways and I am not doing a good job of looking after you.”

The upperclassmen, with the exception of Renee, went back to looking like they thought he was the scum that Neil had taken pity on. That was good. At least they knew the truth, even if Neil was still staring at him with those dewey eyes he seemed to have no control over tonight.

“Yes you are,” Neil said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Nicky’s right,” Andrew mumbled. “You can't handle when people show you the most basic level of decency. I’ll have to get him to get you used to that like he did with the phone.”

“It won’t matter,” Neil insisted, then gestured between Andrew and him. “I will never get used to this.”

Andrew didn't bother denying there was a this as he responded, “You are more drunk than I thought.”

* * *

Neil watched Andrew too closely again on the way back, until finally Andrew couldn't take it anymore. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he reminded, “I am not your answer.”

“You are not my answer,” Neil agreed. “You are everything I never knew to ask for.”

Somehow Andrew’s grip managed to tighten further. His foot pressed harder on the gas. Neil looked at him like he was waiting to hear his percentage.

How could Andrew hate Neil so much it hurt and not at all at the same time? Neil was a walking contradiction and he was infesting Andrew. And, worst of all, Andrew was letting him. Andrew liked Neil. He liked how he wriggled under his defences, but knew when something was not to be pushed. He hated how he let Neil inside.

Neil was still looking at him, patiently awaiting an answer, and Andrew was not about to delve into his fucked up psyche with Neil, especially when Neil was drunk and they would be suffocated by the upperclassmen in mere minutes.

So, instead, he said, “Fuck, you are a cheesy drunk.”

* * *

Dan and Matt fell asleep on the couch together while Allison dyed Neil’s hair. Andrew watched from the edge of the bathroom, keeping an eye on drunk Neil and making sure Allison didn’t screw up his hair.

Andrew leaned against the doorframe and thought that he had definitely fucked up. Neil should have never put him in charge of stopping him from doing something stupid. Sure, Neil was alive and wouldn't have any new scars. He hadn’t met his usual level of stupid, but Andrew was really starting to think letting drunk Neil allow Allison to dye his hair could go over very poorly in the morning.

Andrew thought it was one thing for Neil to drunkenly decide he was alright with more attention grabbing hair and another for him to put up with that attention sober. The colour was too dark, too obviously dyed, too attention grabbing for a man who had picked a fight with a middle-aged woman for looking at him for too long.

But then Allison turned Neil to the mirror with hands over his eyes and removed them for the grand reveal.

Neil stared at his reflection and instead of shrinking away, he leaned forward and a slow smile formed on his lips until he was full-blown grinning. He turned, still beaming, and focused his gaze on Andrew to gauge his reaction.

Andrew stared back for a long moment, shocked by how impossibly brighter Neil’s eyes seemed in contrast to the jet black of his hair. Andrew ran a thumb over his lips to hide the slight curl of his lips from Allison as he silently willed it away.

He composed himself, then finally spoke up in German. “I would definitely still blow you.”

* * *

 Kevin and Nicky should have been in bed by the time Andrew got Neil back to their dorm room. Instead, they sat in the beanbag chairs and paused their videogame when they heard the door open.

“Kevin!” Neil said excitedly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

If it was thank you, Andrew might have to kill them all and himself.

Andrew hung back as Neil walked across the room.

Nicky looked between Neil and Andrew with wide eyes. Kevin stared at Neil with a look of utter confusion.

“Thank you for believing in me,” Neil said in a serious tone. “And keeping my secrets. Thank you for training me.”

Kevin looked uncomfortable and Nicky was looking to Andrew for answers. Andrew was getting bored and annoyed, but then as usual, Neil found a way to keep his interest.

“You know, I would kill for you,” Neil assured Kevin.

Kevin turned to Andrew for help. Andrew decided to let whatever was going on run its course without interference, unless things escalated.

Nicky broke the silence as he said, “I have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start.”

Neil turned to Nicky then and gushed out, “Nicky, I don’t think I ever thanked you. I should have thanked you. You made me your friend and family and I am so-”

“If I have to hear you thank one more person for one more thing tonight, I am going to stab myself,” Andrew interrupted.

Nicky looked over Neil’s head and met Andrew’s eyes as he pointed out, “He’s drunk.”

“I noticed,” Andrew responded.

“You got him drunk without me?” Nicky asked, as if drunk Neil was some zoo exhibit for him to come stare and laugh at. “I can’t believe you went drinking without me. I can’t believe Neil got drunk. And where did his hair get dyed? And why?”

“Allison did it,” Neil answered.

Kevin was offended as he questioned, “You went drinking with the upperclassmen instead of us?”

“Hold on, Neil was just letting people dye his hair and nobody thought to tell me?” Nicky demanded. “I could have picked out something so much more interesting than…” He paused and gestured at Neil’s dark hair, then said, “This.”

“He wanted to dye it black,” Andrew pointed out.

Neil had been so stupidly excited to pick what colour to dye his hair. He had been sure of his choice of black. Nicky didn’t need to make him second-guess that decision.

For once, Nicky took the hint as Andrew stared him down in warning.

“Black is good too though,” Nicky quickly rushed to add. “I mean, Neil could probably pull off any hair colour, so…”

Kevin couldn’t care less about Neil’s hair though. He was still hung up on the drinking without him thing as he demanded, “No one even thought to invite me? When have I ever turned down a drink?”


End file.
